phoenix and other cities in arizona and new mexico are bracing for the annual monsoon season. outside albuquerque, they placed sandbags in and around homes as a precaution. and the national guard is there as well. just in case. there is a big risk of flash floods after recent wildfires burned off all of the vegetation. and now we turn to some holiday outings that turned to tragic freak accidents. a 10-year-old boy swimming in an eastern tennessee marina was electrocuted in the water, another nearly died. the two swimming between house boats on cherokee lake in east tennessee. several other people were talken to the hospital. in missouri two children there were electrocuted in lack of the ozarks after swimming off a private dock, the victims a 13-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother. people raced to shut off the electric current and rescue the kids. it was simply too late. a sweeping report today about the nuclear disaster in

japan's fukushima plant triggered by last year's earthquake and tsunami. after six months of investigation and 900 hours of hearings, the report outlines steps to prevent a similar meltdown. investigators are also pointing fingers at the prime minister at the time of the accident, saying he added to the chaos and confusion. new details about that deadly cruise ship accident off the coast of italy. court documents now claim the crew of the ship kept sailing for several days despite knowing about electrical problems on board. also, water-tight doors were allegedly left open and the crew was using the wrong maps. two americans were among those killed. police in germany now say they have a motive in a deadly hostage siege. the heavily armed man killed four people and then shot himself to death when a commando team stormed the apartment where she was holed up. investigators in the city of carls rue say the man was upset that he and his girlfriend were evicted.

more questions raised about the mysterious death of yasser arafat in 2004. his widow is asking that arafat's bed be exhumed after traces of radioactive material were found on the clothe he's supposedly wore. the french doctors say the palestinian leader died of a stroke, many long suspected foul play. now we turn to the presidential campaign kicking into higher gear today as president obama begins a bus tour in two key battleground states. on top of that mitt romney is huddling with top aides over his vice presidential pick. abc's mary bruce is following the campaign. >> reporter: president obama is hitting the road. visiting two key battleground states on the first bus tour of his campaign. >> we love you! >> i love you back. >> reporter: the president was pushing his economic agenda. as he speaks to voters in small towns. no big rallies on this trip. >> you look raspberry? >> he is expected to focus on manufacturing, promoting himself

as the champion of the middle-class and casting mitt romney as out of touch. while the president seeks to energize his base he will have unwanted company. the romney campaign is dispatching two of their top surrogates, governors pawlenty and jindal to follow the tour. two vice presidential contenders will be touting romney's alternate vision. the president is visiting friendly turf, ohio, a state he won in 2008 and hoping to hold on to in november. next stop, pennsylvania. mary bruce, abc news, washington. >> more fallout from the historic health care ruling. romney now officially sawing that it is a tax, what the government is going to charge people who do not, you know get their own health care plan here. which was a conovoversial stement, obviously his record in massachusetts where he put something very similar into play. included the same tax for those who didn't get it. there has been a lot of semantic game. a penalty, a tax.

now romney officially himself saying in an interview yes it is a tax. >> supreme court said it too so. >> yeah. he had to come out and own up to it. >> i wonder who is going to pick as vp. >> hard to tell. rubio seemed in the forefront. governor christie of new jersey, still, in the mix. pawlenty out there, a bit, a few choices. everyone is tight-lipped for a few more weeks. we'll see. >> sound like something out of one of those old sitcoms, the boy starts to do something wrong, his mother arrives and pulls him home by his ear, right? that is almost what happens right here in mississippi. police say 22-year-old roy mitchell was about to rob a convenience store. wait for it. there is mitchell's mom, right behind him. she grabs the toy gun and hustles her son out. but mitchell is now facing attempted robbery charge. not to mention, probably a pretty stern talking to from mama. >> he is so grounded.

>> ha-ha! >> come on, man. well it was a special fourth of july for a mother a newborn and dad a soldier returning from afghanistan. army specialist garrett fornier met his son for the first time when he arrived from afghanistan the day before. five generations were at that airport to greet him. he has been watching the boy on skype and overseas, but it is just not the same. >> i was a little shocked. being over there you see pictures. and you know getting to hold him. and see both of them. it's just crazy. it's a great feeling. >> oh, bet it is. well he plans to take the family to a red sox game tomorrow night. he has a few months before his next deployment. happy for that family. yeah. cute little kid. some southern california fishermen pulled in quite a haul on their july fourth outing. an 800-pound shark caught 15

miles off the coast. that is actually an educated guess on the weight since the scale topped out at 750. >> the shark was so big it couldn't be hauled into the boat. they had to drag it into the dock by its tail. >> imagine. running up against something look that in the water. >> at lowest they had all the shark sightings in cape cod and that area. at least that's one, one less shark. >> one less shark. >> yeah. coming up we know you have been waiting to see this all day. pictures of people making pigs out of themselves, eating those hot dogs. >> first, the family has no idea where he is. but the question they really want to answer is who gets his millions? you're watching "world news now." ♪

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it is the mystery of the missing millionaire. tycoon goes out to sea on his boat. only the boat comes back. >> now the battle over his money turned into a family feud overshadowing the search for him. abc's matt gutman has more. >> reporter: this new footage obtained by abc news shows guma a guch aguillar with his family. >> i have a hard time clearing my mind. this is a good place to try. >> reporter: the same boat from which he seemingly disappeared two weeks ago. the millionaire tycoon and father of four. was last seen leaving his home on june 19th. just hours later his boat washed ashore, on this florida beach, engines running, his wallet, keys, phone still on board. the coast guard unable to find the body. tuesday the millionaire's billionaire uncle, top kaplan

joined a feud over the fortune. in new court filings obtained by abc news, he suggests he may not be dead at all. writing he disappeared under suspicious circumstances, and that the parties remain hopeful that aguiar is a life. aguiar's wife, his mother and teams of lawyers were also back in court tuesday. all three family members are battling for some control over $100 million in aguiar's assets. his mother accused his wife jamie of threatening divorce the day he went missing. >> made it very clear that jamie aguiar was not to be appointed in any capacity overseeing his property or person. >> reporter: jamie denied it counter sued saying his mother-in-law wants the money. [ indiscernible ] >> reporter: in fact the only thing all three family members agree on now is the possibility that aguiar may have faked his death. >> he may have jumped off the

boat. another boat picked him up or rode on the boat into shore. as the family drama continues to play out this new footage of aguiar shot for a documentary about him shows a much different side of his family together hand in hand. a guch aguiar will sell the $5 million mansion and yacht presevering some of the family fortune. >> such a a relatable story in this tough economy. >> the bottom line, the mother and then the wife, fighting over it. and i just -- >> money. more money. more problems. thank you, biggy. >> we'll be right back.

a wild night in the windy city as fireworks lit up the sky

above navy pier. the red, white and blue flying high over chicago last night. of course as the city joined the nation in celebrating independence day. >> in our nation's capital, another annual fourth of july tradition. thousands of people showed up to the national mall for the capital fourth. a concert and fireworks show. >> that concert featured perf m performances by the national symphony orchestra, and country, r & b, broadway stars as well. looking and sounding good. also, another fourth of july tradition that is nowhere near as dignified as the one we saw. >> for the sixth year in a row, joey chestnut was champ of the nath nathan's hot dog eating contest at coney island. he wolfed down 68 dogs in ten minutes. working up a sweat. and probably a whole lot more in the sweltering heat. joey managed to down 16 more hot dogs than the nearest competitor and takes home $10,000 and the

mustard yellow winner's belt. >> a great year. also a head case. he fluctuates like crazy. on good days he is good. on off day he's can get beat by anybody. >> chestnut's accomplishments include 37 grilled cheese in 10 minutes. a few years ago. and gobbled 10 pounds of asparagus last year. >> bet that was some funky pee after the asparagus. you all know i'm right. competitive eating is equal opportunity. in this year's women's competition, a world record was set by sonya "the black widow" thomas with a total of 45 hot dogs and buns in ten minutes. that beat her record from last year of 40 hot dogs. thomas said she wanted to eat her age, which is 45. by the way, yeah, she just weighs 110 pounds. >> she looks sick. >> it is disgusting. i know how i felt after three

hot dogs yesterday. all right, yesterday we asked for you to tweet your best fourth of july pictures. many did. >> one way to beat the heat forced to sit in the sun and meditate. big bottle of water and tomato. >> this is what we were talking about yesterday. good barbecue in a smoker. this viewer told us he is smoking ribs in the bay area. good for you, man. >> love it. another way to keep cool, a giant backyard water slide. kids enjoy the slides. the grownups enjoyed. the founding fathers would have wanted that. we would love to see more of your pics. >> what are you doing right now, at this moment, if it is clean we can show it on the air. tweet us, a pic at wnnfans. let us know. who is going to disneyland every single day for an entire year? >> what would you do with a tattoo that has the a typo?

next in "the mix." >> a crazy little world there. stay with was, everybody. don't want to miss "the mix." 3q

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welcome back, everybody. if there is one thing that we in this building love it is disneyland. of course, we don't love it as much as one couple. a southern california couple that decide they'd were bummed out about not having a job. they said you know what, starting this year, leap year, they're going to go to disneyland every single day. they had a disneyland pass, cost them $650 which allows them to go to the anaheim theme park and the other part of the california adventure it is called every single day. so far they have done it. 183 days and counting straight so far. the wife she has a full time job. she still goes at night and joins her husband in the

evenings at disneyland. they said, look, we wanted to put a smile on our faces instead of sitting at hope and being bummed out about being out of work. disneyland every single day. disney our parent company imagine that. a small world. the song in your head every day. >> a rough one off the a. >> thank you for job security. >> thank you. >> interestingly enough, new jersey residents have an app that lets them keep a spy-eye on the police. called police tape, aclu just launched it. a cell phone lap. only available right now on android phones. supposed to be on iphones in a month. basically, three functions, video, audio recording, and tutorial for first time users. and allows people to tape the police. >> privately? >>t sort of once you put it on it clouds out. you can't really see it. they say it is because people

behave badly, sometimes, and now this is a way to protect yourself by sort of recording it. >> and puts folks on edge and cops on edge. in this day, everything being recorded. be on your best behavior. this story, woman goes to get a tattoo in canada. wants to get something in memory of her friend who passed away. she wanted to get the word, see you at the crossroads. remember the song? >> yes. ♪ see you at the crossroads >> but the tattoo artist made a mistake and forgot the r, and it said see you at the cossroads. the judge is giving this woman $9,000 that will talk care of her emotional distress, plus the more than 20 removal sessions it will take to get the tattoo off her abdomen. be careful when you get the tattoos. >> out of ohio, a man took a taxi to a hotel, didn't have money tried to pay with cash and a little weed too. he got arrested.

arrested. the cab driver called, called the police.

this morning on "world news now" -- historic heat. it was the hottest independence day on record in a long list of cities. >> and for hundreds of thousands struggling with no power, it is still no holiday. it is thursday, july 5th. good thursday morning. hope everybody had a good fourth of july yesterday. you had a relaxing one? >> wonderful. and saw fireworks. >> all i wanted to do saw fireworks from the rooftop in brooklyn. good for the day. we're here and back to work. >> i'm sunny hostin. paula faris is on assignment. we will get to the extreme weather and stormy conditions which may have led to a terrible

boat accident here in new york. >> developing story there. from one accident to another. swimmers in two states get zapped by electric currents after jumping into the water just to cool off. the fatalities and now the search for an explanation. >> also this half-hour, disturbing new details about the luxury cruise line that, liner that sank off the shores of italy. it raises big new question as but safety on board the world's cruise ships. you know i am a bug cruiser. >> you love that stuff. >> love, love, love. >> that ship is still there. >> still there. >> later, the outrage in south florida after a lifeguard got fired for saving a life. what his co-workers did and what his boss has to say. what is the saying, no good deed goes unpunished. classic example of that. get to all that in just a minute on this day slightly hungover, tired, holiday morning for the country. >> friday eve though. >> when the holiday falls in the

middle of the week, people look forward to the weekend to rest up, recharge the batteries. but our top story right now at this hour, americans, of course, celebrated the fourth of july, despite all that record breaking heat out there. new york was downright oppressive last night. during the annual macy any fireworks show spectacular which took place as always over the city's hudson river. >> but the boston pops show in boston was stopped for 25 minutes because of a thunderstorm threat. 22 states are now under ape heat advisory. and it may be several days before there is relief. with more here is abc's brandi hitt. >> reporter: for millions across the country the hottest fourth of july ever. triple digit temperatures in many parts of the u.s. including minneapolis and chicago. >> we are staying cool, sitting in the shade we, have water bottles and ready to enjoy a great day. >> reporter: on top of the heat at least one million homeowners in the midwest and mid-atlantic are without air conditioning, electricity or working bathrooms.

>> feels like a big long camp out in our house. it's been rough. >> reporter: patience is running thin in west virginia where many are relying on ice and water deliveries. in texas they're chilling out in cooling centers. >> helps me a lot i won't be out there all sweaty and wondering where i am going to lay my head or what is going to happen to me. >> reporter: out west the big concern continues to be wildfires. firefighters quickly put out this raging brushfire in palmdale, north of los angeles. and there is word the most destructive fire in colorado's history its finally contained. zoos across the country are also taking extra precautions in these hot and dry conditions. >> went to see the lions earlier they had gone back in to the inside it was so warm. >> reporter: between the ice blocks, sprinklers and shade, it appears everyone is trying to find a way to beat the heat. some people are also working in these conditions. and this heat wave is expected to continue from the big apple to washington, d.c. and chicago through the week. brandi hitt, abc news, new york.

>> a special shout out to folks in suburban d.c. a lot of public fireworks displays got canceled last night. no power. people aren't in the mood to celebrate trying to clean up wait for the power and spoiled food. >> they're hot. >> let's just get past this. not the ideal fourth of july for a lot of folks around the country. it is over. an hopefully the power will be on. yes, they're making progress. moving on to a developing story on this thursday morning. a big rescue operation in the walters off long island, new york. as many as 30 people were plunged into oyster bay harbor when the boat they were on capsized. at last word i should say, coast guard divers and local marine units said most of the folks have been accounted for but a few are still missing. storms may be to blame. we'll follow developments throughout the morning. >> new mexico is bracing for downpours and flooding after wildfires left nothing but scorched earth. in the county they placed sandbags in and around homes as

a precaution. the national guard is there just in case. this is the annual monsoon season in the southwest w, when flash floods are always a possibility. and with the july fourth holiday now behind us there are new calls to control personal fireworks. after an explosion that injured 11 people. in fact, two children were severely burned when fireworks being set off at a house in palm, new hampshire blew up. the fire chief wants state lawmakers to take some action. >> you can't prevent this tragedy from happening now but we can possibly prevent the tragedy from happening in the future. that's what our goal its at this point. >> yet another fireworks accident in the same state of new hampshire, this one on the beach in rye, throw children there were rushed to the hospital after putting sparklers in ape bottle and then, that bottle exploded. >> freelance writer who covered extreme sports for "the wall street journal" has died in a mountain climbing accident. michael ybarra was climbing in

yosemite when he fell to his death. that area does not have marked trails and is used mostly by experienced climbers. a 10-year-old boy taking a holiday swim in a tennessee marina was electrocuted in the water and another boy no, sirly died. it happened when the two were swimming between house boats on cherokee lake in eastern tennessee. several other people were taken to the hospital. and a similar tragedy in missouri. police there say two children were killed at lake of the ozarks. they both were electrocuted while taking a swim off a private dock. the victims were a 13-year-old girl and her 8-year-old brother. adults shut off power to the dock and started cpr on the kids. it was just too late. there are new details this morning into the cruise ship disaster off the coast of italy. two americans were among those who died when the ship ran around. here's abc's lama hassan. >> reporter: it is the latest in the series of blunders

attributed to the crew of the costa concordia, which we have been reporting on since we first went to the scene of the disaster in january. new documents leaked, in italian newspaper, show four days before the concordia ran aground, e-mails from the ship's technical director said the black box data recorder had broken down and was never repaired or replaced even though the owners insisted the recorders were working on the night of the disaster. then there are the water tight safety doors designed to prevent flooding. the documents say they were left open. and an assertion that costa denies. officers on board reportedly said leaving the doors open was standard practice to make it easier for those working to come and go. the documents also suggest the crew were using unauthorized, outdated maps that were found in the bridge of the ship. ever since that fateful night, the blame lay squarely with the

captain who is still under house arrest facing manslaughter charges for causing the sligs and abandoning ship. it appears there may be plenty of blame to go around. lama hassan, abc news, london. >> plenty of blame. plenty of lawsuits. when you see those kind of findings about this accident. in fact, an italian consumer group, leading a class act laotian suit in th lawsuit. compelling case to make. >> the damages would be capped at several thousand dollars. i don't know that will happen. i think there was such a problem in terms of communicating to -- to the -- to the victims or to passengers what was really going on. because aparentally four of them, four victims were found dead in elevators they were using to evacuate. is nus initially they were told everything is fine. go back to your rooms. if they had not been told that perhaps the people would be alive. >> the folks got trapped, the

electrical system got shut down prematurely. you may wonder why the ship is in the water. it could be a year before they get the ship out of the water the really a tragedy on a lot of levels there. >> results should be in today in a recount of sunday's presidential vote in mexico. more than half the ballot boxes are being checked after elections officials say they found some inconsistencies. there are charges also of vote buying and people heading to stores with gift card they say got from the winning candidate's party. that recount is not expected to overturn the victory of enrique pena nieto. an update now on the american student attacked by chapel p chimpanz chimpanzees. andrew oberle expected to be moved to a major medical center in johannesburg. he was viciously attacked at the sanctuary. investigators now say the chimps were defending their territory and they will be allowed to live. >> a very telling fact in that

case. allowing the chimps to live. the chimps felt encroached upon. telling that this guy again was in an area he should not have been in and paid dearly for the mistake. >> there were two gates. >> in the middle of the two. should have been behind the first. he was in the middle. now to a marine, raising money for wounded warriors. doing it in a marine corps way. his goal is to do 1 million, yeah, 1 million pushups by the end of the year. he says he can make it by doing just over 2,700 every day. more than i have done in my life. >> he says he can do the pushups anywhere from the airport, he can do them at work. he is even exercised on top of a firetruck. so far he raised $10,000. his goal is to double that. can you imagine what he is going to look like afterward. >> he'll be ripped. >> buff. >> should be ripped. in already good shape. after 2,700 pushups every day. are you kidding me. >> they say that is all you do, to get in shape, do sit-ups,

pushups, squats. you are good to go. >> you read the tease? >> coming up. turning a scientist into a rock star. why would a lifeguard get fired for saving a life? what his co-workers and doing and what the boss is saying? you are watching "world news now." 3q what if you had up to 28 days of beautiful ? you can have up to 28 days of beautiful, smooth skin, with veet wax strips. veet hair coating technology removes hair as short as 1.5 millimeters... ... and leaves your skin smooth for up to 4 weeks. try getting that with a razor. with veet you'll always be putting your best skin forward. veet. what beauty feels like. also try new veet high precision facial wax for salon-quality smoothness that lasts.

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♪ ♪ >> oh, good song selection, guys. now to a story from the no good deed goes unpunished file. a south florida lifeguard was asked to turn in his whistle after saving a man's life. >> that's right. instead of rewarding hip his bosses fired him because he left his station. his firing has turned into a mutiny. abc's matt gutman has more. >> reporter: when duty called,

tommy lopez sprinted. >> some one is drowning. i was looking. i dent see anyone. they're way down over there the i started running. >> reporter: he passed hoards of beach-goers to save a drowning man. >> i was worried about the guy. he was blue. >> reporter: instead of being rewarded he was fired. you see, the 21-year-old knowingly violate aid rule that prevents guards from this privately run lifeguard company from leaving their station to help a swimmer in distress. >> i did what i had to do. >> reporter: because some one's life was at stake. tommy's guard station is 100 yard that way down the beach. beyond this sign he is not allowed to go. but the person who was drowning over over there. a spokesperson for jeff ellis management said we have liability ush use and can't go out of the protected area. suddenly the rule that got tommy fired launch aed a mutiny. >> reporter: let me get this straight. all of you resigned or were fired because of tommy because

of his decision. tommy's fellow lifeguards leaving en masse, seven of them in disgust. >> we are basically supposed to do is watch them die, technically. >> reporter: just then we came across brian ritchie who walked off this guard tower to turn in the whistle and the shirt off his back. >> reporter: brian, did you just quit? >> i did just quit. >> how did it go? >> it was rough. i am glad that i can -- separate myself from this. i knew if the event came up i would go. >> reporter: they made a pact choosing to save lives instead of their jobs. matt gutman, abc news, helendale beach, florida. >> i am so confused. lifeguards are supposed to save people's lives. he should be a hero. >> they should have promoted him. because you left your boundary area, i don't understand. >> i'm confused. about the whole thing. >> when rules get in way of logic. and that would never happen on our beach, sunny. never happen on our beach. >> never happen.

>> i'll res ycue no matter what the boundary is. particularly if you are cute. i will go out and save you. come on, girl, let me bring you to safety. >> so true. >> something i don't get. coming up next, the scientist who may have found the meaning of life. >> that's right the exciting discovery of a tiny particle and what it means to you and me. you are watching "world news now."

>> einstein, newton and higgs. scientists may have discovered a particle the key to explaining why there is life in the universe. >> big news in the science world. nicknamed the god particle. the search for it was started back in 1964 by a british scientist named peter higgs, abc's david shuckman has more. >> reporter: a discovery about

the fab rick of the universe that will go down as one of the greatest in science. in a giant underground laboratory near geneva researchers have found a key to matter. in this circular tunnel they identified a new kind of particle, as predicted nearly 50 years ago by a british professor, peter higgs. [ applause ] he was in geneva, an emotional moment hearing about the particle known as the higgs boson. >> well i would look to add my congratulations to everybody involved in this tremendous achievement. for me it's -- really -- an incredible thing that it happened in my lifetime. >> reporter: scientists hunted for the higgs boson by firing particles through the tunnel and forcing them to collide to reveal their inner workings. ultimately this as it but a very basic quest to understand what the universe is made of, and from space we get the planets and us. this involves digging into

atoms, deeper and deeper to reveal the incredibly small parts inside them so tiny it is not clear how they have any kind of substance. and that's where the higgs boson comes in, a particle that acts like glue giving other particles mass. and 50 years of theory now momentous discovery unlocking new areas of research. peter higgs known as a quiet man is in the limelight. the particle he suggested in the '60s is recognized as fundamentally important. the giant machines that did research costs several billion pounds. no one knows what spin-offs will be. when the electron and dna were discovered it took decades to see their potential. the higgs boson could prove the same. david shuckman, bbc news. >> it makes sense, acts like glue and gives particles mass here. interesting side note, higgs is an atheist and hates the term god particle because of his

religious belief. interesting. >> it is interesting. >> i was never good at physics. >> i understood that. >> coming up. he was told he will never walk. >> look at him he could be the next olympic running star. 3q

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♪ i'd do anything for you, dear ♪ ♪ anything 'cause you mean everything to me ♪ ♪ i'd know that i'd go anywhere ♪ ♪ for your smile ♪ anywhere ♪ yes, i'd do anything ♪ anything for you ♪

♪ oh i need someone to read me stories ♪ ♪ oh someone to turn the page ♪ >> sunny likes seeing the "fifty shades of grey" books. >> i read all three. >> what did you think? >> they were fantastic. >> uh, uh, uh. look at the smile. a man told he would never walk has a shot at winning the olympic gold in running. >> the young south african who spent his life battling to overcome his disability will now compete alongside some of the

world's most elite athletes. here is abc's jeffrey kofman with more. >> reporter: oscar pistorius has moved one carbon step closer to his olympic dream. the 25-year-old south african, known as the fastest man with no legs has spent years struggling to be accepted as a runner without a handicap. >> pistorius is really flying here. >> reporter: despite being a double amputee who rock aets rou -- rockets around the track with cheetah flex feet. >> if they can prove they give me an advantage. >> reporter: he was born without calf bones. before he was one both legs were amputated below the knee. he was told he would never walk. >> a man with no legs can't run. >> reporter: he has done that and so much more. shattering expectations and record. in 2008. he wasn't allowed to run in the beijing olympics. when that decision was reverse heed fauld to qualify. this summer here in london he will finally get two shots at

gold. running in the individual 400 meter race, and the 4 x 400 meter relay. >> certainly the argument is there that this is unfair because he is the bionic man. if this were that unfair, he would be winning gold medals in world record time. this its about inclusion for an aathlete who deserves it who has been shunned in the past because of his disability. >> reporter: this its one wof te happiest days of my life. he will face ferocious competition on the track. he may not win but he will have the world watching in awe as he tries. jeffrey kofman, abc news, london. >> what an amazing story. >> it really its hard to tell what is more impressive, the technology that allows hum to do that or just his resilience and spirit to win. >> he is quite an athlete. played cricket. tennis. triathlons. he is an athlete. >> all the way, man. wishing you the best. going for the gold in london.

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this morning on "world news now" -- american celebration. the precautions as public fireworks displays entertain the masses on independence day. >> all that despite the dangerous heat and the risk of spreading wildfires. it's thursday, july 5th. good thursday morning. i'm sunny hostin. paula faris is on assignment. >> good morning, i'm rob nelson. hope you had a great fourth of july. and it was the hottest one on record for a lot of folks yesterday. we had that, ongoing misery for hundreds of thousands of people waiting for electricity still. and the relief from the heat as well. complaints from utility customers, are they having an impact?

you can imagine patience has to be running real thin around the mid-atlantic for folks who are still -- day six. >> it's been quite a while. >> without power. >> also this morning, a convicted molester told a washington state judge he was hopped up on caffeine and had so much he lost control. hear what his victims are saying about that. >> you hear folks blame things on alcohol, drugs, whatever. too much caffeine? >> we would all be groping people. >> ha-ha. >> this staff would be on death row. >> later this half-hour, our first public comments from katie holmes after she filed of course for divorce from hubby tom cruise. find out what she has to say in a few minutes in today's edition of "the skinny." >> i can't wait to hear about that. >> juicy, juicy. >> first, the record heat could not keep millions of americans from celebrating the holiday. >> as we said it was the hottest july 4th ever in memphis,

minneapolis, and a few cities on top of that. our coverage now begins with abc's larry jacobs. ♪ celebrate >> reporter: the country's biggest fireworks spectacle. ♪ fit for a birthday, celebrating 236 years of the united states. ♪ every big celebration has an orchestra like here in boston. ♪ and of course on the washington mall. the nation's capital. >> we're grilling in the backyard. we've got some pretty good tunes for you. >> reporter: and every party has food. president barack obama hosted military families for a barbecue on the white house lawn. >> hi, guys, how you doing. >> reporter: mitt romney marched in a parade near his summer home in new hampshire. >> it's hot. we're meting a little bit. >> reporter: the day off call with hardships, extreme heat for many, no power for others days after a massive summer

thunderstorm, and raging wildfires and threat of new ones canceled fireworks in cities in 20 states. >> three, two, one! [ cheers and applause ] >> reporter: still americans managed to stretch the envelope or their stomach for the birthday party. joey chestnut won the sixth straight coney island hot dog eating contest, wolfing down 68 weiners. nearby, thousands packed the beach. hundreds of sun worshippers in tampa laid out their beach towels in a novel way. larry jacobs, abc news, new york. >> i like that with the towels and the flag. that is very cool. absolutely. video too from, chicago, here. cooler near lake michigan, chicago, and thousands of folks showed up there last night for the annual fireworks spectacular. of course they needed, i guess, relief, distraction after the triple digit heat they have been dealing with several past days. the windy city cooling off some time soon. beautiful display there last night. >> always cooler near the lake. lake effect.

i went to school at notre dame. we used to talk about chicago and the lake effect. how it was -- just to be cooler. right there. >> a breeze. you had a relaxing day at home. you had fun with the family which is good. and i was barbecuing with a few friend. they had something i know you will appreciate. they had a beef hamburger infused with bacon fat. >> no! >> this is the most. >> you didn't bring me any? >> there were none left. you crazy? there were none left. >> everything tastes better with bacon. >> everything. infused with bacon fat. >> it was delicious. >> what could be more american? than a burger than that and the heart attack i will have next week. a look now at your weather on this day after the fourth. hot and sunny in the northeast. not as humid. storms though could threaten the tennessee valley and ohio valleys with strong winds and hail, pleasant from seattle to san diego. >> chicago will be close to 100 again today with oppressive humidity. dallas, 96. miami in the upper 80s. that 59 in anchorage, looks good for today.

>> uh-huh. don't you know. >> well utility crews in the mid-atlantic worked through the holiday trying to reconnect the power and ac for thousands. the governor of ohio met with workers in columbus to thank them for their hard work. but john kasich says he is still concerned about high temperatures in the coming days. >> it's not over yet. we are not letting our guard down. we are not relaxing on anything. i am pleased to see where we are now. >> governor kasich. thousand of homes and businesses from maryland to new jersey are still without power nearly a week after the storm. >> hang in there, guys. got to be rough. crews will be back at the scene of a pretty messy train derailment near chicago today. and cleaning up and looking for a cause. a 138-car, union pacific freight train, hauling coal, derailed wednesday afternoon in northbrooke, illinois, a bridge collapsed sending several cars to the road below. thankfully no one was hurt. >> a mountain climbing accident

in california claimed the life of a "wall street journal" reporter who covered extreme sports for the newspaper. michael yrabba fell to his death. experienced climbers frequent the area because there are no marked trails. >> as we reported here yesterday, the fourth of july is actually the deadliest day of the year on american roads. so many factors contribute to the dangers. just north of new york city in fact, police say a tour bus driver was apparently going just a little too fast on the fourth when his bus went out of control sending two dozen people to the hospital. more now from abc's ron claiborne. >> reporter: the bus returning from a casino in connecticut crashed into a guardrail. 24 passengers were injured. >> it could be any number of reasons, could be speed, wet pavement. >> reporter: one of what will likely be hundreds of accidents on america's roads. more americans die on the road on the fourth of july than any other day of the year. and it is the deadliest day for teen drivers.

inexperienced, young drivers are out of school and often have other teens in the car. particularly lethal combination. >> when there are other teens in the car with the teen driver, a vehicle can become a party on wheels. that is a recipe for disaster. >> reporter: a 15-year-old girl killed in an accident in michigan. three other friends were in the car and the driver was 19 years old. with each additional passenger in a car driven by a teenager, the risk of fatality soars. young drivers are the most likely to speed. to make judgment errors to be distracted. and to text while driving. in one study researchers placed cameras in cars with 16-year-olds behind the wheel. >> oh, my god! >> ah! >> they revealed a shocking number of driver errors even though they knew they were being filmed. >> sorry! >> reporter: the new transportation bill signed into law a few days ago by president obama tries to deal with the problem of teenage drivers by encouraging states to put restrictions on young drivers. such as not allowing them to

drive at night or with passengers in their cars until they have gained experience behind the wheel. if enough states go along with this, it could address what is becoming a tragic fourth of july tradition in this country. ron claiborne, abc news, new york. >> a party on wheels. and texting also. >> the scary part. really. that is one of the greatest fears for a parent when your kid starts driving. you know what can happen? not what your kids are going to do, crazy folks on the road what they will do. can't imagine that. our facebook question of the day, the question is -- should there be stricter licensing guidelines for teen drivers? give us your impressions at wnnfans.com. you have two slowly creeping towards driving age. so. >> hope there will be the robot at that point. driving them. >> get in the other lane. >> jetson car. type thing. >> let siri drive them there. >> after a brief holiday break, the presidential campaign picks up again later today. president obama hits the road in

ohio for the first official bus trip of his 2012 campaign. mitt romney is on vacation in new hampshire, but his campaign is busy. two gop surrogates, governors tim pawlenty and bobby jindal will be on the road to follow president obama's tour. >> more political news -- four days after mexicans voted for a new president, we should get the results of a recount today. election officials say they found inconsistencies are and rechecking more than half ballot boxes. the recount is not expected to change the results which gave the big win to candidate enrique pena nieto. even though investigators are looking into claims that some votes may have been bought. well everyone agrees the ipad, apple ipad is the tablet computer to beat. but amazon, google and microsoft are all taking aim at the market for smaller, cheaper tablets at half the price. now sources tell bloomberg that apple is going to enter that market with a smaller version of the ipad at about $200.

an announcement as early as october. >> i don't get, if you make the tablets smaller they get down to the size of the iphone. people already have. i don't like that. the ipad is dominating the market. just continue to dominate. why shrink it. >> although $200. i am a big, early adopt everything, iphone, ipad, the first, second, current one. i don't know, a smaller one at $200. i would be interested in that. >> called the iphone. >> i don't know. >> apple. they're not hurting, you know what i mean? apple isn't starving. >> i'm buying it. >> of course. i'll borrow it. spiderman is taking the big screen by storm. another super hero is getting more up close and personal. captain america celebrated the fourth of july yesterday with a visit to a comic bookstore in virginia. >> the captain accompanied by super girl. they posed for pictures with patrons.

the super heroes wanted to remind everyone about the american spirit. the store gave away comic books and hot dogs. >> aw, see, the hot dogs from us yesterday, on set. >> you ate three hot dogs. >> i had three yesterday. they were delicious. i stand by my relish and ketchup theory. not your mustard. >> dijon. >> all right, coming up. when ice cream, it makes you scream. looking to what causes, we've all been through this, the awful brain freezes. >> a convicted molester says he lost control and he blames it on caffeine. you're watching "world news now." ♪ coffee and tea and the java bean forces for a cup, a cup, a cup ♪ attention - americans living with limited mobility. what do you do when you can no longer get around like you used to? when you fear losing your independence? who do you call? call hoveround now, to see if you qualify for america's premier power chair.

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♪ i love coffee i love tea i love the ♪ i love coffee i love tea i love the java it loves me ♪ >> and this next story is pretty wild. you have probably heard of the twinkie defense, too much sugar sending some one over the edge. now comes the caffeine defense. kevin sands, a school bus driver in washington state says too much caffeine drove him to grope three high school girls and two women last fall and it happened when he went to watch a school volleyball game. >> that caused a psychotic episode. i stated my son-in-law and daughter had never seen that kind of -- behavior from myself. >> now sand will be drinking his coffee in jail. he was sentenced to a total of five months despite his unusual explanation. his victims' parents are still pretty outraged. counselor, your thoughts on this case?

>> i mean, i have heard a lot of things. i spent a lot of my legal career putting people in jail as a prosecutor. i have heard a lot of things. i think everyone is entitled to a defense. you should put a defense on when your liberty is at stake. really? caffeine? >> caffeine caused you to feel somebody up? >> you were driving and hit somebody, you were hopped up and twitchy. okay. >> a little touchy-touchy. i'm sorry -- uh, uh. i'm so. >> ridiculous. >> no, no. >> ridiculous. >> i don't buy that, sorry. >> that one threw me. >> we drink a lot of caffeine on this shift. hello? a lot of caffeine on this shift. >> overnight. >> sorry, nicole. >> stop touching me. >> ha-ha. >> got to stay awake somehow. >> hollywood celebrities now heading to the maternity ward. >> what katie holmes is saying publicly about her high profile

breakup next in "the skinny." >> oh. >> ha-ha!

♪ ♪ skinny ♪ ♪ so skinny ♪ ♪ skinny ♪ ♪ so skinny >> time for "the skinny." >> indeed. >> now, matthew, everyone knows him, the big movie "magic mike" that i haven't seen but i want to see, and camilla, his wife, they announced they're expecting child number three. >> good for them! very nice. very nice. >> they have two children, son levi, and darling daughter vita. now a third one. he tweeted it out. happy birthday, america. more good news, camila and i are expecting our third child. god bless. just keep living. >> well said, matthew. he is on apele roll. a big movie. just got married, last couple weeks. >> she is gorgeous. >> third kid. >> you go. >> he is living the life. matthew is living the life. playing the bongos, tearing life up. >> remember claire danes, "my so-called life" and star of

the new series "homeland" on showtime which will begin its second season. september 30th. she is expecting her first child with she and her husband hugh. she is 33. he is 37. and they're expecting their first baby which is very, very cool. she hinted of this a few weeks ago in an interview she want aid kid. now there is official confirmation. they're expanding their family. that is good for them. we work them congratulations. all kind of good, romantic, family news. baby news. >> this next one is not that romantic. we have all been talking tomkat and the breakup. interestingly enough, katie holmes filed emergency application with the new york courts to make everything from their divorce proceedings public. public. now you know that never happens. these celebrity divorces are usually conducted behind closed doors. everything in secret. she is now forcing tom to come to new york, hire a new york attorney, and any one can walk into that courtroom and hear the business. that tells me she is being aggressive saying, you not what,

tom, you give me a hard time about this, i am airing all the dirty laundry. >> life is getting tough. in dawson's creek. joey potter got a streak in her. kind of crazy. >> it is very aggressive. >> you have to wonder, too. >> what does she know? >> this is usually hush-hush. particularly in hollywood. to say, look -- open all this up to the public. >> the threat, she is making that threat to tom. >> a powerful threat for someone in his position. think about -- all we could learn about his life. all we could learn about scientology. >> i want to know. everyone wants to know. >> all right, katie, ain't messing with you, girl. i want to talk about "spiderman" it opened up, shortly after midnight. tuesday morning. it is doing well. $35 million in its opening day. that is the most ever for a tuesday, debut. way back when, spiderman came out. $39 million. spiderman two $40 million this is off to equally strong start as predecessors. everyone clearly making their money off this franchise here.

spiderman is living large and well. >> he is cute. andy garfield. >> oh, so glad you said that.

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♪ ♪ >> yes, ♪ ♪ >> yes, indeed. philadelphia freedom. city of brotherly love displayed in the skies where american freedom was born. of course, a fantastic at the museum of art along with the largest free concert in the nation. they know how to party there in philly. this gigantic celebration started at noon and didn't wrap up until just before midnight. >> i didn't know that about philly. >> philly knows what is going on. they get down for the fourth of july. their holiday for obvious reasons. nothing better on a hot day than a big gulp of a cold slurpee or

-- i love the 7-eleven slurpee, or ice cream cone. that kind of recklessness does come at a price, the dreaded brain freeze. we all have been there. >> we have that wicked headache that hits moments after the first satisfying sip. abc's linsey davis explains. >> reporter: when it is this hot outside this -- can be music to your ears. every year, the average american consumes six gallons of the creamy cold stuff. but even though we all scream for ice cream. it can lead to screaming pain. that's right the dreaded ice cream headache, also known as brain freeze. >> oh, now it is kicking in. >> brain freeze. >> oh, my head. >> goes to your head. worst pain headache ever. >> reporter: military doctors are studying the rocky road to brain freeze. here's what they have found. this is your brain. and this is your brain on ice cream. as you wolf down that triple scoop, your frozen treat sends an icy blast to a nerve in the roof of your mouth the same that detects pain in your forehead

and then braincicle. >> when the rapid cooling occurs, that disturbance is picked up by the nerve. >> reporter: dr. elizabeth loder of the headache center at harvard university, says brain freeze is common itch even more so if you are prone to headaches. scientists say speed counts. >> there is an easy fix in store, eat cautiously and slowly like your mother told you. >> reporter: so i decided to test that theory. don't think i will enjoy this. this is strictly in the name of science. all right, it is still going on right now. >> reporter: if the summer heat means you have to have the slurpee, don't sweat it. >> ahhh! but slurp at your own risk. linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> slowly. just enjoy it slowly. >> slowly. should only last 30 to 60 seconds. they say it doesn't go on too long. but when it does get you -- it gets you. whoa, that chill, man. oh.

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